Minnesota locks up NCAA Tournament berth with win over Purdue

Any question about Minnesota’s NCAA Tournament status was answered on Friday night.

The Gophers added another quality win to their tournament resumé, knocking off second-seeded Purdue 75-73 in the quarterfinal round of the B1G Tournament on Friday. Minnesota entered the week on the bubble, but with wins over Penn State and Purdue and advancing to the semifinal round, the Gophers have surely locked up a spot in the field of 68.

Minnesota got huge contributions from their two stars, Jordan Murphy and Amir Coffey. The two combined for 48 points in the victory, with Murphy accounting for 27 points, a career-high against a B1G opponent.

Daniel Oturu was also big for the Gophers, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the victory.

For the game, Minnesota shot 50 percent from the floor and knocked down 16-of-21 free throw attempts. The Gophers didn’t get much contribution from their bench on Friday night, as all 75 points were scored by the starting five.

With the win, Minnesota now advances to the semifinal round of the B1G Tournament on Saturday. It will play the winner of the Iowa-Michigan matchup, which will round out Day 3 in Chicago.

The Gophers are 21-12 on the season following the win.

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB